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Nicolae Jetty Carpathia
Nicolae Jetty Carpathia is a fictional character and the primary antagonist in the Left Behind book series written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. Carpathia is the Antichrist, and leader of the Global Community, a world government which he ultimately marshals against the followers of Jesus Christ. Biography Childhood Born in the small village of Cluj, Romania, Carpathia's birth was the product of a genetic engineering and artificial insemination project. His mother, Marilena, is unwittingly convinced by the followers of Satan to become the mother of a child who, they assure her, will change the face of the world. Marilena stays with her husband, Sorin, until the baby is born, insisting that her "son" keep the strong "Carpathia" name. Through his parents, Carpathia possesed a very unique bloodline, dating back to Ancient Rome, so he could actually claim to be of Roman descendant. This is partly in keeping with the early Christian belief that the Antichrist would come in the form of a Roman emperor in addition to the current PreMillenialist Christian view that the Antichrist will emerge from a "New Roman Empire", the European Union. As a young child, Carpathia showed remarkable intelligence and athletic ability, and also proved to be extraordinarily manipulative, able to bend others to his will with relative ease. His handlers arranged for his mother to be eliminated, and Nicolae himself eventually demanded the dispatch of his "fathers," a key to his rise to power. With his advisers and counselors, Carpathia formed a successful import-export business, which quickly made him a millionaire. Once Nicolae became a powerful businessman, he was taken by a demon to the desert, where he was forced to remain without food or water for forty days. In a contrast to Jesus' temptations where He withstood the Devil with Scripture, Nicolae fell to all three temptations. After this, Nicolae was returned to Romania. Later, he quickly grew bored with business and finance and, guided by the "kingmaker" Leon Fortunato, set his sights on politics. Rapture At the age of 24, Carpathia stepped into the political scene as a member of the lower house of the Parliament of Romania. Falling victim to Fortunato's blackmail, the President of Romania soon resigned in favor of Carpathia, with the unanimous support of that country's parliament (an event which would run contrary to the current Constitution of Romania; the Romanian President is directly elected, and in the event of the death, resignation, or removal of the President, the presidency is assumed ad hoc by the President of the Senate until new elections are held). Shortly thereafter, in the chaos following the Rapture, Carpathia was appointed United Nations Secretary-General. Throughout his swift rise to global prominence, he feigned humility, saying he wished only to serve and denying that he ever sought power. Dictatorship Carpathia quickly began effecting changes to the U.N., converting it into the Global Community and appointing himself as that government's Supreme Potentate. After he raised Fortunato from the dead, he styled himself "His Excellency Global Community Supreme Potentate Nicolae Carpathia." Eventually after World War III, Carpathia became a dictator, while still portraying himself as a benevolent pacifist. Death and resurrection After three and a half years in power Carpathia was assassinated by Chaim Rosenzweig, an Israeli botanist and statesman whom he once pretended to befriend, prophetically suffering a lethal head wound from a blade which Rosenzweig had created himself and concealed in the tubing of his wheelchair after feigning a stroke. His demise was short-lived, however, as after three days of lying dead, Carpathia's body was indwelt by Satan himself, thus making Carpathia appear to rise from the dead and further cement his power. Final 3½ years Carpathia eventually proclaimed himself God in the desecrated Temple of the Holy of Holies, and demanded that everyone on Earth worship him. With his reign secure, he ordered that golden statues of himself be constructed in every locale possible, and commanded that all worship these statues three times a day, with death as the penalty for failure to obey. Carpathia established "Carpathianism" as the only legal religion on Earth and, following the events in the Book of Revelation, decreed that all were required to bear a mark (the biblical Mark of the Beast) signifying their loyalty to him and the Global Community in order to buy or sell. At last, he gave out the decree that those who did not accept the mark, along with any who refused to proclaim him as God, would be beheaded by a guillotine, known as a "loyalty enforcement facilitator." Armageddon In a final surge for complete domination of Earth, Carpathia created the One World Unity Army, composed of all G.C. military presence on the planet; their mission Carpathia was to destroy the remnant stronghold of Petra and take over the city of Jerusalem as the world's new capital after the supernatural destruction of New Babylon. He also gathered is the armies of the world at the valley of Armageddon for the battle with Jesus Christ and His army. In accordance with the series' interpretation of biblical prophecy, Carpathia was overthrown with the return of Jesus, who cast him, along with his False Prophet Fortunato, into the Lord Lake of Fire to suffer for all eternity. Before his eternal sentence is carried out, Satan is cast out of Carpathia, who then kneels before Christ and declares Him as Lord. He also admits, at the feet of Jesus, that everything he ever did was for personal gain and that his entire life was a waste. Post Millenium One thousand years later, we see a brief glimpse of Carpathia and Leon Fortunato as the Lake of Fire opens to swallow up Satan. Carpathia is still writhing in agony as he is tortured in fire and sulfur, repeating over and over that Jesus is Lord. The scene closes, and Carpathia's - along with his master and his underling - suffering is resumed for all eternity. Behind the Scenes * Marilena stays with her husband, Sorin, until the baby is born, insisting that her "son" keep the strong "Carpathia" name. * In the prequel, it is suggested that his name means "Victory of the People." This refers to his first name Nicolae, which comes from the Greek name of Nikolaos, which means victory over/of the people. (This was hinted at with the name of the artificial insemination project, Project People's Victory.) It can also a refer to a group of non-mainstream/not accepted Christians called Nicolaitans in Revelation 2:15. * The President of Romania soon resigned in favor of Carpathia, with the unanimous support of that country's parliament (an event which would run contrary to the current Constitution of Romania; the Romanian President is directly elected, and in the event of the death, resignation, or removal of the President, the presidency is assumed ad hoc by the President of the Senate until new elections are held). Character Basis Nicolae Carpathia is most likely based on former Romanian President Nicolae Ceausescu. This is evidenced by both Carpathia's and Ceausescu's use of cult of personality in their rules. Also, both hail from the country of Romania, and moved up the political ladder in that country with incredible speed and ease. Finally, a nickname for Nicolae Ceausescu is "The Genius of the Carpathians", and that is even the name of his biography. In other media * In the Left Behind movies, Carpathia is portrayed by Gordon Currie. * In the Dramatic Audio presentations, Nicolae Carpathia was voiced by Roger Mueller. Category:Characters Category:Characters in the Left Behind Kids series